2007年VOA标准英语-US Military Undeterred by Plane Shooting Incide

A U.S. military plane that was shot at earlier this week by suspected rebels in Mali's northeastern desert is scheduled to leave the country on Saturday. U.S. military officials are undeterred by the shooting, saying they are still willing to help Malian government troops. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

The C-130 aircraft will go for repairs at a U.S. military base in Germany.

Despite the attack, military spokesman John Dorrian says the U.S. military will not be discouraged from helping² African government troops again.

"It is normal for us to offer assistance," said Dorrian. "There are risks inherent in doing that. Once we agree to do so, [we] do so knowing things may not go perfectly³. But in this instance, the troops that needed the supplies received them. There were no injuries and the aircraft returned with minor⁴ damage. So that is successful."

Malian military spokesman Abdoulaye Coulibaly blames Tuareg rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga for the attack, which followed weeks of landmine⁵ explosions, dozens of government soldier kidnappings and civilian⁶ deaths in the desert border near Algeria.

No rebel faction⁷ has claimed responsibility.

U.K.-based Tuareg analyst⁸ Jeremy Keenan says the U.S. military presence is upsetting an already fragile region of conflict between Tuareg rebels and the Malian government.

The U.S. military recently completed an anti-terrorism training exercise in Mali, as part of the four-year-old, multi-million-dollar U.S.-led Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Initiative.

Some analysts⁹ have said the American initiative is misguided and that the Saharan desert is a region of widespread poverty, rather than a feared training camp for brutal¹⁰ religious extremists.

Since the 1990s, Tuareg fighters in Mali and in neighboring Algeria and Niger have staged rebellions to demand economic aid. The different waves of fighting ended in peace deals nomad¹¹ fighters say have been unfulfilled.

Malian and Niger officials say they have kept most promises.

Analyst Keenan says Tuareg rebels are threatened by U.S. military training in Mali, because they fear their government will use the military support to repress Tuareg opposition¹².

"Local people have become progressively sort-of fed up," said Keenan. "[This is] why it has become so unstable¹³ and why it has now broken out into rebellion."

According to U.S. government documents, nine Saharan governments receive U.S. funding and training to strengthen their militaries to fight drugs and arms smuggling¹⁴, terrorism and human trafficking, and improve regional communication.

U.S. officials say this week's shooting does not change U.S. plans to continue anti-terrorism military training in Mali.